唱片 (chàng piàn) — record (vinyl, CD, or album) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

唱片 refers to a physical record (vinyl, CD) as an object. 专辑 is the album as a release — the body of works, which can be digital.

noun

record (vinyl, CD, or album)

Measure word · 张

Examples

唱片。
Zhè zhāng chàng piàn shì wǒ yé ye liú xià de hēi jiāo.
This record is a vinyl left by my grandfather.
唱片。
Tā shōu cáng le shàng qiān zhāng gǔ diǎn yīn yuè chàng piàn.
He has collected thousands of classical music records.
唱片。
Zhè jiā diàn zhuān mén mài èr shǒu chàng piàn.
This shop specializes in selling second-hand records.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

唱片 combines 唱, suggesting singing or playback, with 片, a piece or sheet, making a recorded piece of music.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口昌唱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

昌

昌chāng唱chàng

Same sound today

The 口 part points to the mouth, while 昌 shows how the character is pronounced.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

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